AuthorTopic: George's Worst Album (Read 7514 times)

George is very talkative--and funny in the early interviews. I wonder how good a producer George was. He produced many of his albums, but did great work for Spector and Jeff Lynne. Damn Spector, though, for recording reverb to tape! Couple songs on ATMP would sound great remixed.

Then what are "MySweet Lord" "What Is Life" "Ding Dong Ding Dong" "Got My Mind.." "All Those Years Ago"and "You" but stabs at pop chart music?I can't find the quote, but he said of either Ding Dong or You that he wrote it in minutes and was the kind of pop song he'd always wanted to write. I think he would have loved chart success, but just wasn't up to it.

I just remmeber him in an interveiw i saw or i read [i think it may be the brainwashed dvd ] saying that he has only recorded songs that he enjoyed and not thought of if it was going to be a hit or not .Dont get me wrong i`m not kocking GEORGE`S music i have all his solo albums even electronic sounds and wonderwall ,i loved GEORGE just as much as the other beatles , he was a truly great artist with or without the beatles .

I just remmeber him in an interveiw i saw or i read [i think it may be the brainwashed dvd ] saying that he has only recorded songs that he enjoyed and not thought of if it was going to be a hit or not .

Hmm, I think I remember that as well. *resists looking it up* This is entirely in keeping with the majority of George's statements. He really wanted to do stuff he was interested in, and not care about the outcome. Of course, that's easier to say when you don't have to work for a living. It was Lennon, I believe, who said the early Beatles absolutely aimed their songs at the hit parade. After they broke in and got some success, they could come out with really clever tunes that were social commentary or experimental, and not love songs (which always dominate the Hit Parade).

That said, I still believe (like Kevin) that George would have preferred for the stuff he liked to be well received. But worrying too much about the outcome cripples an artist. I think that's a lot of the reason John went off for a rest. It's like, Bugger, what do they want? When really, the more unique and personal the piece of art, the more interesting it generally is to the audience. (Generally, because it still has to be accessible, and a lot of really wild stuff won't find a very big audience.) Anyway, that's my prejudice about creativity. When heartfelt and sincere meets talented execution, you've got a hit!

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I think all of george's albums had songs that were great dark horse i mean it wasn't his fault he had bronchitus or how ever you spell it or something...

I still have one more album to listen to, then I'll have heard them all! I do love the Dark Horse song, but I'm not happy with the hoarse version. I heard the Live in Japan version first, and the song just sparkles. So it's hard for me to step down to the foggier version. The song is great--one of my favorites!-- but I prefer Healthy George singing it.

I am really loving this discussion. Thanks, everyone, for participating!

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All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007<br />

Hello HARIHEAD I`ll have to watch the brainwashed dvd A.S.AP. i m sure i did`nt dream it :-/

As for the DARK HORSE album as much as georges throat is shot to pieces ,didnt he record this album after his short u.s tour ? its one of my favs [with the exception of BYE BYE LOVE] i like all the tracks FAR EAST MAN i dont know why ,but i just love it

I`ll have to watch the brainwashed dvd A.S.AP. i m sure i did`nt dream it :-/

Oh, good. Thanks, Kite! I have a really slow connection, so anything from YouTube takes ages to load.

As far as I remember, George got throat trouble due to overwork. He was producing an album for Ravi and for Splinter along with his own, and left himself just one month to get Dark Horse together before his tour. So he was singing on other people's tracks during the day and his own album at night! He was really distressed when his voice started to go, because he already had the band committed (lots of people had scheduled around the tour) and venues booked. He decided to go ahead. The album came out partway through the tour, as he only just finished it before they got going.

Argh. If only one could turn back the clock-- or at least drag George to the doctor. He wouldn't go on his own. Thank goodness Olivia put her foot down later so he didn't die of hepatitis! The goof.

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All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007<br />

Ive watched the brainwashed HARIHEAD and theres no mention of what i said in this thread :BIt must be somwhere else i saw it .I know why i dont watch it to often it quiet emotional ,its proberly one of georges last interviews i should imagine.Its sad really, really sad.

Even if he didn't admit it, he must have thought it... he was only human, like Kevin said.

sure. and i'm pretty sure he knew he had lost it. there was always the mccartney-lennon rivalry, but of course george saw paul doing pretty good things, not just john. george's albums became more and more boring after all things must pass, he just kept repeating himself. but it is true, that is a very human thing. 33 1/3 is about as deep as he could possibly sink.

'Gone Troppo' is so awful, it isnt even worthy of a beer coaster in my house. If it wasnt for 'Wake Up My Love', it could possibly be the worse mix of music ever thrown together on an album.

I guess we're fated to have opposing tastes, Tkitna. 'Wake Up My Love' is one of my least-favorite cuts from that album. The repetitive keyboard rift doesn't do a thing for me; I actually find it obnoxious. I also dislike "Baby Don't Run Away"-- the whole arrangement and particularly the female voice just don't work for me.

But in contrast to Tkitna and Wayne (among others, I'm sure) I enjoy the album overall. I love the social commentary and innovative guitar-playing on "That's the Way It Goes" (not to mention the beat), and I delight in the sheer goofiness of "I Really Love You". "Greece", "Gone Troppo", and "Mystical One" all have an upbeat, vacation in the tropics feel, which is one of the reasons I like the whole mood of this album. I wish they'd released the toe-tapping pop song "Dream Away" with the hit movie Time Bandits for which it was written; I'm sure it would have done well as a single. And concluding the album with the gentle lament of "Circles" is slightly melancholy and soothing at the same time.

So, not top of the list, but definitely not bottom of the stack for me. I'm still making up my mind about that; no need to rush. Cheers, all.

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All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007<br />

I guess we're fated to have opposing tastes, Tkitna. 'Wake Up My Love' is one of my least-favorite cuts from that album. The repetitive keyboard rift doesn't do a thing for me; I actually find it obnoxious. I also dislike "Baby Don't Run Away"-- the whole arrangement and particularly the female voice just don't work for me.

But in contrast to Tkitna and Wayne (among others, I'm sure) I enjoy the album overall. I love the social commentary and innovative guitar-playing on "That's the Way It Goes" (not to mention the beat), and I delight in the sheer goofiness of "I Really Love You". "Greece", "Gone Troppo", and "Mystical One" all have an upbeat, vacation in the tropics feel, which is one of the reasons I like the whole mood of this album. I wish they'd released the toe-tapping pop song "Dream Away" with the hit movie Time Bandits for which it was written; I'm sure it would have done well as a single. And concluding the album with the gentle lament of "Circles" is slightly melancholy and soothing at the same time.

So, not top of the list, but definitely not bottom of the stack for me. I'm still making up my mind about that; no need to rush. Cheers, all.

I love the album too, Harihead.My favourite Beatle is John but George wrote some of the most beautiful melodies and he was dstill doing in the seventies and eighties.Gonne troppo is very underated.It is a long time since I listened to it so I cannot remember the songs so well to describe why I like them but I remember how funny some of them are for example the cover he made of I Really Love You.

Gone Troppo's not a bad album but i don't think one of his best, i agree with Harihead that Baby Don't Run Away & Wake Up My Love are quite weak songs & i don't like that keyboard sound he used :-/. the best song on their for me is Unknown Delight. i thinkits a beautiful song & realised it was written for Dhani when he was born! That's the Way it Goes is a good tune but not some of George's best lyrics.Mystical One is quite a happy tune but i do struggle with the rest of the album. :-/Not a great George album but OK :-/

I've been listening to George Harrison for over 30 years, so I know all these albums pretty well. When I first heard Brainwashed I didn't like it, but it grew on me and now I love it. I love Extra Texture, but I think that's only because of the memories it brings back. It's probably not really that good of an album.